The Dragon Man
by mulamegs
Summary: A Tarzan Nalu AU. Lucy Heartfilia journeys to Africa with her best friend Levy, who is not so convinced about this trip, in search of dragons. Lucy encounters a man, Natsu, who seems to be raised by dragons. In her discovery of dragon culture, Natsu takes Lucy on a journey of his world. "Two worlds, one family." - Phil Collins.


_**Okay so, because of everyone's excitement about this AU (and because I have literally been thinking about it all day) here is the first chapter! I have seriously enjoyed everyone's excitement and comments about this AU. They made my day. Please continue to tell me what you think or if you have any ideas as to what you see in this AU, let me know! I love to hear different ideas because it always makes me change the story somehow, and it's awesome! Also, if you read my last chapter in the Gajevy week, I said that I was going to still have Natsu be raised by apes. Spoiler (not so spoiler) alert, he's not *thanks to (I think, I'm sorry if I'm wrong) an anon's comment about a herd of exceeds and then that got me thinking...and here we are! So, without further ado, here is The Dragon Man.**_

**I do not own Fairy Tail or Tarzan.**

* * *

"Lyla! Lyla where are you?!"

"Eli!" The woman huffed, running towards her husband. She held up her skirt in one hand and a baby in the other, swaddled in a white cloth. The ship swayed drunkenly in the ocean. Flames erupted from the bow, engulfing the elaborate wood and thin sails. "Eli what's happening?!"

Eli grabbed her shoulders to hold her steady. He looked deep into her onyx eyes. "The ship is going down. We have to get off. Now," he managed to say between breaths. He could already feel the heat singing his frail, collared shirt and melt skin.

"B-but-but where is the lifeboat?! Where even are we?!" Lyla questioned frantically, contorting her head in various directions, desperately searching for the lifeboat. The ocean was darker than night with only the flames lighting a minute fraction of it.

"Over there! Quickly!" Eli urged. The ship began to crackle beneath the heat of the unforgiving flames.

"What about our clothes and food and everything?!" Layla yelled back at him as he pushed her along the sinking ship, towards the only boat in several thousands of miles that would quite literally save their lives. A sail post creaked, towering over to kiss the family. It slowly made its way to the top of the ship deck, with the Eli moving himself and his wife out of the way in the nick of time. "I packed the essentials! Now get in, Lyla!"

She sat onto the boat. Eli descended them down into the dark, unknown waters. The lever creaked painfully as he muscled to lower his wife and son down into the water. The boat drifted off when it crashed on top of the sea. Eli glanced behind him at the flaming ship and then down to his wife with pleading eyes swelling with tears. He took a dive from the edge, swimming frantically to his wife and the boat. She pulled him up with her free arm and fell back when he collapsed in the boat, his chest heaving.

Lyla gazed down at him, a tear trailing down her cheek. He sat up, and wiped it with his calloused fingers, then steadied his hand on her jaw, searching in her eyes.

With his back towards the ship, he could only, barely, see his wife's reaction. Her glazed over eyes mirrored the flames that consumed their hopes of ever getting home. Her mouth was drawn open as she watched the ocean swallow the ship whole and place it at the bottom of the ocean.

Lyla focused her eyes back onto his blue ones. She fell into him, tears overflowing and dripping onto his shirt.

"Oh god. Oh god...Eli…" She cried, a pain swelling in her stomach. A pain of loss.

Eli caressed her thick, pink hair. "I know, baby."

She pulled away from him and held the swaddled child closer to her chest. Eli glanced down at him, removing the white cloth that covered his face to reveal a bubbly infant.

Unaware. Unafraid.

He smiled down at his son's eyes that mirror that of his mother's. The baby squirmed in Lyla's arms as Eli ran a finger down his soft, innocent skin.

The air was suddenly cold and much too quiet. A chill ran over the woman's spine with her long, rosy locks flowing in the wind. She gazed down at the baby in her arms. He began to cry.

"Shhh. You're okay now," She soothed, rocking him in her arms. "Mama's got you, Natsu. Everything is going to be okay."

* * *

It was morning before they reached the jungled mountain shores somewhere off of Africa. The ragged boat washed up on shore with the family nestled inside it. Stepping out, Eli's legs gave. He stumbled across the sandy ground before regaining his renowned strength. Lyla stood tall out of the boat, stretching her spine and gazing up at the mountain range camouflaged in thick foliage.

The pair started their route up a mountainous path, that led to god knows where, searching for- well, they didn't know exactly.

Anything.

Just something.

Natsu giggled in his mother's arms at the sight of a mammoth tree a distance away. He flailed his chubby arms and grinned happily at it. Eli turned to whatever had clearly gotten his son's attention. And behold, it was hope.

Eli turned back to his wife, who was grinning pleasantly at the tree. He gazed down to his son and ruffled the pink tuft of hair on his head. "Good work, son."

Lyla and Eli spent days, weeks maybe- time was not a concept they were aware of- on their new house. A treehouse. Together, they built a new home for their family, for Natsu. Resources on the foreign land were scarce, but they managed. And they managed well. The pair created windows and fixtures. As well as, levies that would easily hoist them up to the front door.

It was a masterpiece.

Eli stood back at his work and wiped the sweat that grew on his brow. Lyla was sitting on the porch, rocking Natsu in her arms. He'd never seen her so radiant and beautiful. Her pink hair seemed to create a halo around her as the African sun beat down on them.

Lyla felt his gaze linger on her skin, causing a slow smile to crawl onto her face. "Thank you, Eli." She said, looking up at her handsome husband. His hair was spiked up, his shirt clinging to his skin, revealing his toned body.

He grinned and stepped over to her. "Thank _you_, Lyla," he said and kissed her forehead softly.

* * *

It was that day when everything changed. It was then Eli and Lyla remembered that they were indeed trespassing on someone's property. On something's land. This was not a land inhabited by humans. It was a land ruled by the animal kingdom.

And on that day, it ruled over humans.

It came into the house in a rush. It shattered windows and picture frames. It tore clothes and drapes. It ripped Eli's skin, blood rushing onto the wooden floor.

"Shoot it Eli! Shoot it!" Lyla screamed, backing herself into the corner of the house. Natsu flailed in her arms, wrestling with the cloth that covered him. "SHOOT IT!"

The jaguar edged closer to Eli. The only thing standing between him and death at this moment was a double barreled rifle.

"Lyla. Lyla listen to me," Eli called out over his wife's panting and son's cries. "Are you listening Lyla?" He asks again in a calm voice, refusing to take his eyes off of the circling cat. "I am out of bullets…"

A silence fell onto the house. The creaking of the boards and the low purr of the enemy remained.

Lyla's onyx eyes opened wide in disbelief. "What do you mean you're out of bullets?!"

"Lyla listen to me!" Eli yelled. He sighed briefly. "I'm out of bullets. I have nothing to fight this thing with…"

"Eli, I-"

"Just whatever you do, keep Natsu safe…" Eli said finally, taking his eyes off of the prey for a second.

A regrettable mistake.

The jaguar lunged and aimed for his neck. Eli fought back with the barrel of the gun as the cat pounced on him.

"Protect him!" He screamed after her.

Lyla scrambled up to gather any object that wasn't already destroyed and began to build a barrier around his cradle. She threw blanket over blanket atop the fortress to protect her only son.

"AGH! LYLA!" Eli screamed out in agony as the jaguar bit into him. "IS HE SAFE?!"

Lyla smiled down at the bubbly boy, tears gathering in her eyes- unable to hold them back. Natsu grinned up at his mother, holding his arms out to her. She shook her head and pressed her lips together, attempting to hold in all emotion. "Mama loves you, Natsu. Everything is going to be okay. You are safe now." She sniffled as a tear rolled down the tip of her nose and dripped onto his blanket.

"LYLA?!"

"Yes!" She called out to her husband.

Lyla ran a finger down his soft, innocent cheek and through his pink tuft of hair. "Your mother loves you so very much, Natsu. Don't you _ever _forget that."

It was that day when everything changed.

* * *

_**I would be lying to you if I said that I didn't cry when I wrote the ending. I'm not joking...I was sobbing because it reminded me of my mom and I'm away at college and all the feels just kinda hit me at that moment. So moral of the story, it's totally cool if you cried...because I cried.**_

**_Anywho, so did ya like it?! Did ya like it?! Let me know what you think! Review or ask me on tumblr ( .com). Don't forget to favorite and follow because there WILL be more of this!_**


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